The film Overboard is about the haves and the have-nots—or, in this case, the haves and the have-yachts. The original 1987 film, which stars Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell, and the 2018 remake of the same name—which stars Eugenio Derbez and Anna Faris and was released just this month—feature childish yacht owners (Hawn and Derbez, respectively) who have amnesia and are, then, reestablished in less elite but comedic existences. For each of the Overboard films, ultra-luxe boats weren't only a crucial part of the setting—they were also key in demonstrating the characters’ status, and characters’ dedication to status symbols.

Goldie Hawn on the deck of her yacht in 1987's Overboard

Moviestore collection Ltd / Alamy Stock Photo

In Overboard (1987), the 130-foot Yecats from Kong & Halvorsen in Glenorie, Australia (which was renamed the Attessa in 1992 and the Huntress in 1998), was featured as the S.S. Immaculata. (The same boat was also featured in 1993's Indecent Proposal, which stars Woody Harrelson and Demi Moore.) The interior decoration was characteristic of the era: The bold colors and excessive design complemented Hawn's character's profligate outfits. Brent Thomas, the production designer for Overboard (2018), describes: “There was definitely a campy vibe to it and it was incredibly ’80s, both in palette and in shapes and tones. It worked very well, but it was gauche and over the top and it assaulted your senses a little bit. We wanted to make our yacht in the remake a little more sophisticated and elegant and cleaner and crisper and more pristine and grounded, perhaps. A sort of sleek, smooth, gentleman’s fantasy but with elegance and taste as opposed to the one in the original.”

The yacht, renamed Birthday Present for the film, used for the 2018 remake of Overboard.

Photo by Diyah Pera

Thomas and his team chose the 164-foot Aspen Alternative for Derbez’s Birthday Present—a 2010 custom creation from Trinity Yachts in Gulfport, Mississippi, that he sourced from Saint Maarten in the Caribbean after a lengthy international search. (In case anyone gets a case of yacht envy, the Aspen Alternative is currently on the market for $18.9 million.) Thomas credits the boat’s aesthetic—its “old-world elegance” with exotic sapele-wood details—as the reason for the decision.

The closet Thomas designed as a nod to Goldie Hawn's in the original film.

The Aspen Alternative’s exteriors and main salon were featured in the film, but the interiors were constructed in Vancouver, Canada. In Overboard (1987), there’s a focus on the estate room’s closets, with Hawn exclaiming at one point, “Well, the entire civilized world knows that all closets are made of cedar!” (Cedar can be more costly and is often considered more prestigious, as it repels moths and moisture.) For this reason, Thomas says he introduced one in the remake, too: “As a little shout-out to Goldie’s closet, I gave Eugenio a fabulous walk-in closet. It looked like a Hugo Boss store with shelves of shirts and shoes. It was lit and beautifully laid out. Again, as a wink and a nod, we gave him a place for a bunch of shoes as well.”

A scene on the deck of 2018's Overboard.

Diyah Pera

Overboard (1987) contrasts with the remake, but it was the similarities between Hawn and Faris that were especially memorable for Thomas: “Every now and again, I went, ‘Oh my God, Anna looks and sounds just like Goldie!’ There was one moment with her lying back on the area in the bow of the boat. She said something like, “Boy, I could really get used to this lifestyle.’ It was a sunny day where you could lay back and relax, and it felt like the world was your oyster," remembers Thomas fondly. "I smiled and said, 'I get it. I could dig this lifestyle, too.'"

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